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Two Cubs Flown To Scottsdale, AZ Wildlife Sanctuary

A LightHawk volunteer pilot from Woodside, CA donated a flight
in her Pilatus PC-12 single engine turboprop to transport two
orphaned, injured mountain lion cubs to Southwest Wildlife
Conservation Center on Monday. No word on what in-flight
snacks were offered.

(L-R) Ash, Cypress

Brother and sister, they were captured at the end of January by
the California Department of Fish and Game after their mother was
killed near San Jose. Estimated to be about 12 weeks old at the
time, the female cub weighed only 7 pounds and had bite wounds to
her back right hamstring and several broken teeth. She was
emaciated, weak and covered with fleas and ticks. It was later
discovered that she had two broken legs and a broken jaw. An
employee of the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary in Folsom, CA, provided
around-the-clock care at her home to the cubs, who are recovering
well. The zoo is unable to keep both mountain lion cubs due to
budget cuts.

Because the cubs were so bonded and had been through so much, zoo
officials hoped they could stay together. The zoo worked with
California Fish and Game and Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center
(SWCC) in Scottsdale to transfer the two to SWCC, the only facility
that could give the California cubs a home together.

Known as Cypress and Ash, the cubs were flown to Scottsdale by
Joy Covey of Woodside, CA, a private pilot who is donating her
services through LightHawk, North America’s largest and
oldest volunteer-based environmental aviation organization. "It
took a lot people working together to save the lives of these
beautiful young mountain lions," says Linda Searles, Founder and
Executive Director of Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center. "We
rely on collaborative relationships like those we have with
LightHawk, the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary, California Fish and Game
and other conservation groups."

"The donated flight will move these mountain lion kittens to
their new home without the stress of commercial air travel or a
15-hour drive," explains Rudy Engholm, Executive Director of
LightHawk. "And the volunteer pilot will have the bragging rights
of carrying some pretty cute passengers."

The cubs — which can grow to more than 100 pounds as
adults — will eventually live in a large enclosure with other
mountain lions at Southwest Wildlife.